Secrets from the Dollhouse
by paynesgrey
Summary: These are a variety of ficlets centered around the characters of Dollhouse, with various pairings and ratings. In-progress.
1. Veneer

AN: Written for the "Control" theme at dollhouseflash on LJ.

Veneer

What she has felt for the past three days lingers on her skin and see-saws over her brain. The emotions amass together, and she smiles from the onslaught of euphoria. She's really happy. She thinks that maybe it's the highest point of her life. There's so much to do – so much to hope for.

The Treatment will only make things better. She looks expectantly to her right, and the man assures her that the treatment will be quick, painless, and then she can go on her way. She settles on the reclining chair with hopeful elation. She closes her eyes, and in a blanketing brilliance the pendulum swings.

She relaxes and then lulls. An elusive rope drags out the colorful images. Her recent happiness becomes null. Experiences become moot. Her future desires turn obsolete.

Yet she still wakes with a smile. An immediate wash of balance flows over her, and her mind feels so new and empty; there's nothing in the outside world she could possibly love or fear.

She rises from the bed and shallow memories linger; she knows her name, where she sleeps, what color her hair is, and what time fitness classes start. But there's nothing else, and Echo seems content with it. She doesn't know any other way to feel. She's tethered here, and the veneer of absent memories is proof of a tourniquet she cannot see.

And if they have their way, she will never realize it. They will not allow her to feel human enough for her own desires to spring her free.


	2. For Her, His Way

AN: Written for the "Friend" theme at Dollhouseflash on LJ.

Rating: PG

Characters/Pairing: Echo/Boyd

For Her, His Way

Echo has a friend now, but she really doesn't know it. She's forced to feel that way. Like some damn computer or robot, she's programmed to only look at him through fabricated senses and man-made thoughts.

But if anyone asks, Boyd will say that he is her friend despite this. He knows it's true even if no one else believes it. Topher Brink laughs at him and teases him about being an overprotective father. Dr. Saunders isn't sure he's strong enough. Maybe she thinks he'll give up, or he'll eventually treat her like the other handlers.

But Boyd Langton won't.

Echo settles down in the chair, and she looks up at him with that trusting child-like expression. Other times before, he would usually look away. Not now, and not ever again.

He watches her, the computer buzzes, and he can almost feel the anguish she has on her face when her brain receives the pinch.

He takes her hand and squeezes lightly. This is all he can do for her. He can only share in her pain this way.


	3. Waiting in the Cold

AN: Written for the "Stalking" theme at dollhouseflash on livejournal.

Characters/Pairing: Mellie, one-sided Mellie/Paul

Rating: G

Genre: Angst

Waiting in the Cold

Mellie leans over the stove and tries not to cry when the casserole has turned cold.

Paul Ballard is gone again. She hasn't even seen him since his dismissal from the hospital. She was hoping that he'd come back and she'd see him jangling his keys at the door, and she could offer him a warm smile to ease his cold and troubled eyes.

But the hallways are lonely and she just wasted another meal. Idly, she turns the fork in the food and spins egg, chicken and onions around the fork and takes a bite.

Cold. Just like Paul when she's trying to reach out to him. She knows he's always polite, but it's hard for her to obtain his interest. He's so focused on his work, and she knows he's out there saving people and making the world a better place.

She just wishes he'd make _her_ world a better place, and seeing him once in awhile just isn't enough.

Mellie sighs languidly and tosses the fork into the sink. She wraps up the uneaten food and stores it in the fridge. She'd rather throw it away and not have to remember what the food is meant for, but she can't really waste it. It's not her style.

She strides over to her door and peeks out the hole when she thinks she hears something. It's nothing more than the creaks and whines of the structure of the building. It always is.

Mellie shakes her head and tells herself to find something else to do: clean her bathroom or read a long book – _something_.

Paul Ballard isn't coming back, and even if he does, he doesn't stay long enough to spare her a second glance. And she knows better; the more she yearns for him, the more she hates feeling like some kind of obsessed stalker.

She doesn't admit to that just yet. Maybe she can reach him, and jealousy aside, maybe this Caroline isn't as important as she senses in his eyes. It's just _work_, she tells herself.

Mellie smiles and lifts her chin with hope. She picks up the worn copy of a Kathleen Woodiwiss novel and pushes her niggling thoughts away. She can settle for false romance now.

But until Paul comes back, she'll keep trying. For now she'll continue to wait.


	4. Fright

AN: Written for the "Secret" challenge at dollhouseflash on Livejournal.

Character: Topher

Rated: G

Fright

Topher's secret is fear. Sure, everyone has fears, but he's careful not to show his. He hides it behind lame jokes and notorious frivolity, and if any indication so much as peeks above the surface, he pushes people away with his gross amorality and appalling convictions.

No one needs to know he feels this fear. He's much smarter than that. At least, that's what he wants them to think.

He wants them to see his breezy side. He wakes up every day to play with his toys and experiments. He's a whiz kid in a science shop, and he can't get enough of the attention. So many people rely on him – admire him, and he has to keep up appearances.

No matter the cost.

Today he's exposed his greatest fear, and he can't come back from it. Adelle ups his security clearance, but is that really a prize? He doesn't think so. Fear pulsates under his skin like a long forgotten nightmare.

The thick curtain comes down and Alpha is confirmed alive.

_The things I weaved into his brain. The things he knows. The things he can do… The things he will do to _us_._

Remote wiping is just the beginning, he thinks. Fear begins its slow consumption inside him, and he can't even look into Echo's eyes when she slinks by.

She's a reminder too – a reminder of Alpha, a reminder of Topher's open fear.

He glances over at Adelle, and she appears less controlled now. Her alert eyes avoid him, and her sallow expression makes her seem more human.

She can't hold back her fear either, and Topher knows he's not alone.

The thought does nothing to appease him.


	5. Nature v Nurture

AN: Written for the "Instinct" challenge at dollhousefics on Livejournal.

Pairing: Echo/Boyd

Rating: G

Nature v. Nurture

There are things you have to learn and things you already know.

Boyd knows that everything Echo has learned is the bare minimum for her existence. Everything she knows, however, is instilled within her brain. They can create the motions, and they can take them away.

Yet, there are some things Echo holds onto despite the Treatment. He sees this when he catches her singing (the same song when she was a back-up) or when she sees him and gives him a towel, thinking he needs it ("No, Echo, there is no more blood."). He observes her doing other things, like pounding her shoulder or drawing amorphous shapes in the mirror.

"Art makes me feel good," she says, shuffling her lettuce and tomatoes around her plate, making a disjointed face. Boyd watches on as Victor and Sierra look over and smile and compliment her.

"It makes me feel good too," Sierra says brightly.

"Art is good," Victor chimes in. They nod their heads and sit straight in their chairs. Boyd imagines dolls in tea parties like this, it's eerily quaint, and he knows that most Handlers would turn away without concern.

He is not like most Handlers. He keeps an astute eye on Echo. He knows there's something different about her; she's changing right under Adelle's eyes. Even Topher doesn't seem to see between the lines.

You can separate the mind from the body as much as you want, but you can't deny human nature. Eventually, instinct trumps the commands from the most complex brain and rises to the surface.

Boyd follows a step behind Echo, and she senses his presence and smiles. She gives him her workout towel, as if on instinct, and he takes it with a small smile. It's futile to refuse.

"Do you want to hear a song?" she asks. Boyd stares at her blankly, trying not to alert her with a scrutinizing expression. Echo is more observant than the others.

She waits for his answer and he nods. She starts singing the same song that has imprinted itself inside her most basic behaviors. She flutters off, and he walks slowly behind her. She turns around for his approval.

"I like this song," he says encouragingly, still studying her closely.

She skips ahead of him like a pleased daughter. The song becomes louder and more beautiful. The others stare on as she continues. Boyd slips away and joins Topher Brink upstairs who's too busy to see what's going on in the common area of the Actives.

Boyd watches her closely. Echo sings. When the song ends Boyd sees her stop, and she looks around confused, as if she doesn't realize what just happened.

Despite her confusion, she smiles anyway. She walks to the pool humming.

Boyd creases his brow in contemplation. Topher interrupts his thoughts to make a crass joke, but his attention is still elsewhere, back within the residual notes of Echo's song.

Instinct is having an impact on him too, and his gut is telling him that his job to watch Echo will become more pertinent than ever. Even if Topher and Adelle can't see it, he knows he is caring for the most important Active in the whole business.

He predicts that Echo will be the one that will challenge this operation in the end, and then he will be right beside her to make sure she succeeds.


	6. Echo's Editorial

AN: Written for the A-Z meme in my livejournal for psyco_chick32 who wanted Echo and Topher for a "Painting" prompt. This will not be continued.

Word Count: 700

Characters/Pairings: Topher, Echo, Boyd (slight Echo/Boyd)

Spoilers: "Belonging"

Echo's Editorial

He jumped with a start as Echo crept into his office. Topher turned around and sneered at her as she shot him a curious expression. She stared at him in silence before it began to grate on his nerves, so he spoke to her.

"Hi…Echo. What can I do for you?" Topher said with a smile, but his voice had undertones of annoyance.

"For you." She stepped forward and handed him a painting, the paper wrinkled from the watercolor after it dried. Topher looked at it with fading smile, and he wondered if Sierra was painting scary things again. Topher groaned when he realized it was just a regular painting, and it was definitely not Sierra's. He looked up and met Echo's eyes, and she gave him a hopeful yet small smile.

"Er… thanks," Topher said. "I'll have to find room on my fridge for this painting." Thankfully, Actives could not detect sarcasm, he thought.

Echo nodded, and she strode away, and as she left his office, Topher let out a long, hefty sigh. He was about to chuck the painting into the waste basket when Boyd strode in.

"What is that? Is that from Echo?" he asked concerned, noticing the painting right away. What was with this guy? He seemed to have Echo-radar and always knew when something involved Echo, no matter how insignificant.

Topher rolled his eyes. "It's nothing, and no it doesn't have to do with Sierra this time." Topher turned around, and as he set the drawing onto one of his tables, (next to a garbage can) Boyd seemed content on staying and pacing around his office. He made a bee-line for the painting and picked it up.

"Huh. This is interesting." Boyd met Topher's eyes, which were definitely telling him to get lost. "It looks like Echo's got a sense of humor."

"Oh? It's just a bunch of globs on a paper." Topher scoffed.

Boyd paid him a sardonic smirk. "Yes, but she gave it specifically to you." Boyd held the painting away from him and scrunched his brow. "And, if you squint, it sort of resembles you. Like this yellow glob here and these two curved red lines growing out of your head."

Topher hated how Boyd was so amused. "I think you're reading far too much into this, man-friend. She's a doll! She can't have a sense of humor at this stage!"

Boyd raised an eyebrow, and Topher wished he could guess what the man was thinking. He waved his hand and turned around. "Here, you can have it of you want, since you seem to care for Echo so much." Topher sighed and began tinkering with his computer, but he wasn't really doing anything substantial. He was just hoping to look busy so Boyd would leave.

"No, I'll let you keep it," Boyd said humorously, setting the paper down. He probably knew it'd end up in the trash later, but it seemed to please him more to keep teasing Topher this way. Topher grunted. "I think she's thanking you."

"Ha! How do you come about that? She painted me as a demon!" Topher said mockingly.

"Well, that's how Echo knows you," he said bluntly. "However, I think it's also a reminder of what you don't have to be. You showed that with Priya."

Boyd gave him a long knowing look with a tender smile. Topher felt the hives forming, the feeling of that newly formed conscience bubbling under his skin. He scratched his arm and turned away. Boyd was still there.

"Yeah, well, I still think you are reading too much into this," Topher said, and he stared at a particularly bright screen on his computer. "There's no way Echo has the capacity to be that deep."

Topher could hear Boyd's footsteps as he headed toward the door – finally.

The man stopped but Topher didn't turn around to see him off. Finally Boyd said, "Are you sure about that, _friend_?"

Topher harrumphed and looked at the ceiling. He was totally annoyed. He couldn't throw away Echo's painting _now_.

If Boyd was right (and Topher was sure he wasn't), there was something worth investigating in Echo's message – a strange curiosity that he couldn't resist.

END


	7. Impenetrable

AN: Written for my A-Z meme in my Livejournal for "Corruptible – Boyd, Topher." Word Count: 423. Genfic, with some Echo/Boyd implied. Middle of Season Two.

Impenetrable

Topher thinks there's a point when a person can be too positive, where it rubs him the wrong way enough to create balance with a jab or a quip. Boyd Langton makes him feel that way. The man is entirely too laid back, and his content smile grates on Topher's nerves.

Boyd's so-called conscience, Topher supposes, doesn't match his eyes or the stretch of the muscles in his smile. Boyd is too congenial for a security guard, and Topher almost misses the uptight scowl that Laurence Dominic used to exude around the Dollhouse.

Boyd Langton, however, is a conundrum, a puzzle that Topher longs to crack. He thinks it only fair that as long as he, the amazing Topher Brink, is developing a conscience, that Boyd should display a little darkness in turn. It would make him more human, he supposes. Though Topher can't recall the very moment he even started to care about things like humanity, but he guesses that it's probably that moment when he began to care about Priya.

Topher purses his lips when Boyd strides into his office for a routine report on the Actives and Topher waves his hand and drones off some scientific jargon, knowing full well that Boyd would never understand. Instead, when Topher meets the man's deep brown eyes and usual serene smile, he realizes his attempt has failed, and Boyd is following his words perfectly, and as the man stares at him affectionately, Topher gets a chill up his back that he quickly ignores.

The man's soft voice lingers in his ears, and Topher attempts to insult him, make a joke, or try to cajole him to say something that would crumble away this perfect, straight-laced wall of Zen that Boyd keeps around him, ultimately humoring Topher in all his antagonistic endeavors.

Boyd leaves and Topher releases a long sigh he's been keeping inside, exasperated and confused. There's really nothing he can do to chip away at Boyd's titanium surface. He will continue to be the silent observer, Echo's hero, and that man that lifts them up and dusts them off when things go sour.

Topher thinks he should be ashamed for even trying to corrupt Boyd Langton, and consequently he feels his attempts are futile. Boyd is just a man with a heart and mind that no one else but Echo can touch.

Topher decides that perhaps it's just as well Boyd is on their side. A man like that, with an impenetrable fortress of resolve, would be a dangerous enemy to defy.

END


	8. Connection

AN: Written for the "stripped" challenge on dollhouse100. Pairing: Echo/Boyd. Rating: PG. Season One. Word Count: 189.

Connection

He brushed a hand over her hair and tucked a strand behind her ear. Despite what they went through today, a Handler and an Active caught up in an Engagement that went awry, they were still alive, and he could still depend on her.

There was a reason Echo was special. Boyd smiled and she looked up into his eyes. She belonged to him, and deep inside of her skull, he knew that when they stripped away her memories, she would always feel connected to him. The Tech couldn't take that away.

"Are you ready for your Treatment?" he asked her.

She nodded, and he pondered his deep feelings for this woman. He wished that he had a few more minutes with her, so he could express his feelings and create a quick memory that could just be taken away.

But he couldn't. Echo would retain it, somehow. He ruffled her hair, and as he sighed, she leaned forward and shaped herself against his chest. He smiled widely - pleased, and he swung his arm around to pull her into an embrace.

For Boyd, this was enough for now.


End file.
